Brawler
by AgNis
Summary: "How about a deal." "Oooh, is it a bet? I'll have you know, I never lose at this." She sent him a patronizing smirk, boldly looking him in the eyes. She kept shamelessly checking him out as he pretended to weigh his options – in all honesty, he's decided on this ages ago. "If I win, you will live with me." She snorted, unladylike. Kami, why her?


I didn't check it for mistakes but I plan to do that tomorrow (as if).

This one's better compared to the first one because it's less OOC I think. Improvement, yay!

Enjoy & review!

* * *

As he walked in, he nearly got hit with a bottle flying at an impressive speed. Had it not been for his awesomeness (there wasn't a speck of modesty in him, not that anybody had to know), it would have shattered on his head, possibly cracking his skull. Instead it landed on the wall behind him, with a satisfying jingle crumbling to the floor. The air was heavy with alcohol fumes and the sweat gathering on the brows of countless men who have come in search of booze and a clear objective – to get sloshed enough not to know which way is up (he tried not to be judgmental, but that never worked out much).

That did not apply to him – he wasn't one to be led around by something as petty as alcohol. If anything, it was a woman, and even to that he admitted begrudgingly.

She was right in the middle of this stifling, smelly, way-too-overcrowded room full of (by his thinking) horny and desperate-for-a-fuck males (not like he wasn't one himself, but he'd sooner gauge his own eyes out than admit that). It was beyond him how she could even stand this atmosphere, as he felt like puking just standing there.

She seemed to be enjoying herself though. There was a circle of males hunched over her form, all of them at least two metres tall and buff as fuck. Much like Jūgo, but with an actual sex drive. That was the tricky part. Thank god they were only getting their asses handed to them.

She was hand wrestling them, with a smile on her face and sonorous laughter beating them one after the other. She would fool around for a few minutes with each one, watch with amusement as veins popped up on their foreheads, their arm muscles trembled from the effort and they sweated rivers. Her arm never moved an inch. Then, with an obnoxiously loud 'shānnarō' breaking from her lips she would crush the hunk's arm on the table, without as much as breaking a sweat. The man would fall off dejectedly of the bench and another would take his place, again with that cocky smirk, identical to the one the guy before him wore. Between opponents she would down shot after shot of sake, swallowing the intoxicating drink like water, then slamming the cup on the table and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. And don't forget the sigh of a drunkard each time.

Kami, why her?

He made his way through the crowd of those males, questioning once again why did he even bother. It's not like she was going to be taken advantage of once she got drunk, for two reasons, the first one being the fact she could snap their necks with her bare hands (if he didn't get to them sooner that is), and the other – she never got drunk, unless she wanted to; she was too good with _chakra _manipulation for that. It was some crap about metabolism that he didn't really give a damn about.

But he made the effort to seek her out. Took the effort of going to the district of Konoha that was commonly referred to as dangerous – even the destruction during Pein's invasion didn't stop it from emerging once more. And all that because she had the guts to ignore him, _him _for a little bit too long. From the way she acted around him it was clear as day she was scared of him – a natural, understandable response, he thought smugly – but even with that in mind, it pissed him immensely that she dared…

Fine, she doesn't like him much most likely (ladies and gentlemen, the understatement of the century), but that was a different thing all together. No, that's not even the case – she clearly still cares, because that's the kind of girl she's always been – intelligent, but so _dumb _at the same time (when it came to him, and exclusively to him he liked to think). Even if she was scared of him, which she had reasons for (not like the Dobe didn't, but that one's just plain stupid) she shouldn't so carelessly approach _other_ S-class _nukennins_, such as his teammates. For some reason beyond his comprehension she displayed a certain interest in them. Not the sick kind of fascination that Orochimaru must have had to pick them up. It was worse. She wanted to _help_ them and what's even worse – they complied. They liked her. At moments it even looked like they gave a damn about her more than him. Their fucking leader. Karin lived with her in the same freaking apartment!

She is concerned about them. Their sanity, health and what not. But not his. He's not jealous, but shouldn't she just kind of slightly somewhat a little _a fucking lot_ care about him too? Unlike them, he went away willingly. And she didn't have to know he never was in any way restrained. He did whatever the fuck he wanted, roaming free. But why doesn't she care?

Up till now she avoided him and spoke to him only if absolutely necessary. At first he enjoyed it, pleasant not having a girl clinging to your sleeve at all times. He also kept in mind that it was not her to decide _when_ those silent days ended. So he let her – she had no place to run anyway. Why not give her an impression that she actually had any say in this?

But when did she actually start having control over all this, _him_...

He pushed the last guy away and finally laid his eyes on her. With a carefully schooled expression he sat down on the bench pushing up his sleeves to his elbows at the same time. He was donning the long sleeved one for once, as protection from the cold breeze blowing outside of the bar.

She didn't care about the cup anymore, just downing the whole bottle right away. She must have been seriously down in the gutter. It most likely had to do with the row with Tsunade. He didn't know what caused it and he didn't really give a damn. But of course (strange reasoning) she being miserable and hung up on him was a much nicer perspective, as it was the only rightful order of things.

As the bottom of the ceramic sake container hit the surface of the table it cracked in two. She narrowed her eyes at him while licking her lips clean of the last droplets of alcohol (to his annoyance that had his brain reduced to mush for a split second) and leaning back as if to challenge him. Apparently the metabolism shit wasn't up today. She was drunk as a pig, and if her breath and flowing movements weren't indication enough, half unzipped shirt and the hot look she sent him were. Never before had she regarded him that way and damn... Too bad she didn't do that often. Karin did in her place...

"Well, well who's here. Don't tell me you wanna go up against this." Her voice was surprisingly clear for how hammered she was and only the way she almost fell to the floor when she steadied her elbow on the table ensured that she indeed was. She put her palm out inviting him to get started.

He had problems deciding where to focus his eyes, so he just settled for unabashedly ogling her for a moment – the scantily covered cleavage (damn those pigs who've seen her before he came round) out in the open, lips still wet from all that booze and a red face moving a little bit too close for his liking.

He moved in closer as well (god, the breath) and made a mental note to find her when she's drunk more often – the sultry look gave him a pleasant hard-on that seemed to spur him on into action.

"How about a deal."

"Oooh, is it a bet? I'll have you know, I never lose at this." She sent him a patronizing smirk, boldly looking him in the eyes. She never did that nowadays, it probably had to do with how his _sharingan_ could fuck her up. She kept shamelessly checking him out as he pretended to weigh his options – in all honesty, he's decided on this ages ago. "What shall it be then, _Sasuke-kun_?"

Any doubts that he may have had up until now concerning his plan (whether it was evil a lot or just a little bit) did a back flip and landed with their face to the floor. His suffix, even if only temporarily, was back, and if he had any say in this – will be staying for good. She hasn't called him that in _months_ and he managed to forget how it used to affect him – his insides twisted, his manhood throbbed and there was an even more carnal urge to drag her out and rut against the wall.

But that was not the way things were supposed to be done.

He took her surprisingly cold hand in his warm one. They haven't touched since the time she healed him after the end of the war.

"If I win, you will live with me." She snorted, unladylike. Kami, why her?

"We'll see about that, _Sasuke-kun _." She gave his palm an aggressive squeeze, smirking, and therefore sending another rush of blood towards his crotch.

"I can see it now, _Sakura_."

She was in for a hell of a ride.

* * *

Back when they were brats he wouldn't give her the time of the day. She was simply too preoccupied with being hopelessly infatuated with him to realize some training was in order. Even though even he recognized the potential buried somewhere within her nobody made an effort to exploit it. One of the first things the _hokage _said to him off the battlefield, once the war was done with (besides threats that were he to leave again he'd be dealt with quite differently than before – as if there was anybody who could do that) was that him leaving was the best what could have possibly happened to Sakura. Had it not been for his betrayal, she would have remained a weakling for who knows how long. While she could be as stupidly reckless as Naruto and has proved it on multiple occasions (the time she didn't let those three guys from the Sound kill him during the _chunnin_ exam or when she stopped Gaara from doing the same) unlike the Dobe she had no means to back it up.

At least back when they were brats.

Now being underestimated was her best shot as she subsequently pummelled her opponents before they came to terms with what they were up against. Both he and Naruto remained head and shoulders above her though. She seemed a little sour about it as she proclaimed it couldn't have turned out differently as she was neither a _bijuu_'s hostnor from a 'kick-ass' clan. As they were not on speaking terms really, he heard that from the idiot whose existence was now completely pointless, who also happened to be his replacement – _Sai_.

But with her superior knowledge and scholarly skills she left them in the dust. Sasuke suspected she must have – if not read – at least breezed through all the files in the archive. Official _and_ unofficial. And all the technique scrolls – with paying special attention to all the _kinjutsu_ ones. Especially the ones mastered by Orochimaru, as long as his guesses were correct. He was well aware she held pride in her knowledge and reluctantly shared it.

But she sure as hell made use of it.

In combat when sheer strength didn't quite cut it, she'd resort to some more sophisticated _jutsu_ she'd read about and wouldn't normally use because it's a 'waste of chakra'. She had this ugly habit of putting herself down but he couldn't bring himself to blame her. When put against prodigies...

Then there was her flawless memory – she'd once thrown at him what nonsense he's spouted when they were younger.

And her keen eyes. The piercing eyes that held the ability of analysing people and taking them apart piece by piece, to their very core. He knew about that since he got it first-hand. Time after time. When she thought he wasn't looking. He felt exposed each and every time, emotion swirling unguarded within her pupils – more often than not it was some sort of evaluating, somewhat neutral and a rather _cool_ look. Those meagre few times he felt in charge, it was some sort of a slip up on her part, childish infatuation cooped up somewhere within her weaving its way out for him to see. Those were not abundant.

In short, picturing Haruno Sakura from a more wholesome perspective, quite different from his usual one, helped him lessen the major blow to his ego.

So yeah, he didn't win. Screw it all to hell.


End file.
